The invention relates generally to the field of real time computer monitor applications and, more particularly, to applications in measuring and monitoring machine performance for quality control purposes.
Prior practice for broken bit detection involved visual monitoring of the drilling cycle of the numerically controlled drilling machines. When the operator detected a broken drill bit, he interrupted the automatic drilling cycle for replacement of the bit. The obvious disadvantage of this method was the lack of reliability due to lapses in the attention span of the operator. Further, the operator could monitor only one machine at a time. Therefore, costs were high and reliability was low. Often, large amounts of scrap were generated due to a broken drill bit going undetected. Workpieces that have been improperly processed are very difficult to repair since it is difficult to return the machine to the point in the program where the drill bit broke since the exact time it broke is not generally known.
The disclosed drill monitor system eliminates these problems by automating the monitoring process so that detection and interruption of the drilling process occurs immediately upon breakage of a drill bit. Concomitant cost savings due to more efficient distribution of labor and less waste improve the cost efficiency of manufacturing operations.